WDW Trip Planning Guide Reader Feedback

by Brian Bennett

7/9/01

Q.

Andrea Writes:
I'm going over my transportation schedule within the World,
and I'm wondering, instead of taking three buses from CBR (where
we're staying) to dinner at the Wilderness Lodge, is it possible
to take a bus to the Magic Kingdom and then a boat to Wilderness
Lodge? And also, can this be done without entering the MK, on
a day off from the park day?

A.

Andrea,

Your plan will work as long as you're traveling during the
times that the MK is open (or within an hour or less of park
closing time). After that, the boat transportation shuts down.

When you get off the bus from CBR, stay to the left (toward
the water) and you'll find a large boat dock area with a queue.
The labels for which resort the boat services is overhead
as you walk into the queue area (so you can be sure you're
getting on the right boat).

Make sure, of course, that you have park-hopping admission
media or your resort ID to ensure that you are allowed to
ride the boat.

-

Q.

Stephanie Asks:
Hi, my name is Stephanie. I will be a graduating senior for
the year 2002. Some friends of mine would like to plan our senior
trip to Walt Disney World. I need some information on the going
rates for hotels, tickets, etc. If there are any special packages
that you know of for plane tickets that would be of some help.
If you could e-mail me back with this information, I would greatly
appreciate it.

A.

Stephanie,

MousePlanet is really oriented toward
the do-it-yourselfer. We have a lot of information to wade
through, though, so for folks that don't have the inclination
to do so -- or are just overwhelmed by all the details of
planning a trip to Walt Disney World, I highly recommend calling
MousePlanet's partner company, Discovery Hills Travel, at
(800) 750-5975. Discovery Hills can help you sort through
all the options and plan the perfect vacation. Discovery
Hills Travel can handle ala carte booking of specific elements
of your vacation plan.

Of course, you're welcome to browse
through the trip planning guides on MousePlanet in case you
decide to do things yourself. :)

Q.

Ron Asks: What happened
to all the trip reports your site used to have?

A.

Ron,

They're still there! Check out the archive here
at MousePlanet. You'll find the archive bigger than ever!

-

Q.

Paula Writes: If
we plan on going in September when you say crowds are less and
lines are shorter, Does Disney world do what other parks do
and lessen the number of cars in use for particular rides? Many
parks do that around here and it is infuriating!

A.

Q.

and in a follow-up, Paula
asks: This our one and probably only opportunity to go to
Disney World financially so we want to go at a time when the
crowds are less so we can see everything and get on everything
we can. I've been checking around and some sites have been telling
me the crowds are less in September. But if your park
adjusts ride output as you say, then doesn't going at this time
defeat the purpose of seeing and doing more because the crowds
are less? We do pay the same price of admission as anyone else
does during the "peak" season. I don't understand
why we get shafted in service and time allowed in the park.
I think we should at least get discounted tickets if we get
less time in the park and we're standing in the same long lines
for attractions as in the peak times because of "ride adjustment".

A.

Paula,

Even though park hours are shorter and the attractions are
adjusted for fewer guests, you'll still spend MUCH less time
in lines during the non-peak times. For example, in September
you'll see ten to fifteen minute lines for most attractions...
only the most popular ones will be as long as thirty to forty-five
minutes. During the peak weeks in July and December, the corresponding
numbers would be thirty and ninety or more!

Trust me, non-peak times are the best time to visit! You'll
be able to see everything in a much shorter period of time
during any given day.

On another note...

As I was formatting this email reader feature, I noticed
that you stated "But if your park adjusts ride output
as you say..."

You may note that in my response to you, I stated "Yes,
Disney does, indeed, adjust ride throughput when park attendance
drops."

I just wanted to point out that the theme parks at WDW are
NOT mine. Walt Disney World is owned by the Walt Disney Company.
MousePlanet is not affiliated with the Walt Disney Company
in any way. If you would like to complain about the park operating
hours, I'd suggest you check in at guest relations at any
of the parks and lodge a complaint. I'd love to see the parks
open longer and with more ride capacity, too. Your comments
to the company can only help. :)

-

Q.

Ted Writes: Good
evening, Brian. I just finished reading your article on
attraction "Fear
Factors" for children at WDW and wanted to know if
you have any suggestions on the opposite: what to do when the
kids want to and the parents are afraid, what we can all see
even if the parents are afraid.

Any help is most welcome. We are leaving
Thursday for Orlando and will spend a week. Thank you so much.

A.

Ted,

The only suggestion I have would be to do the same as I've
suggested for the kids, but somewhat in reverse. If the kids
want to ride, and are old enough to do so alone, let them!
You can always meet up with them at the attraction exit.

In reality, though, there really aren't any WDW resort attractions
that are really that extreme. You certainly won't find any
300 foot high roller coasters or any such thing at WDW.

-

Q.

Diane Asks: (regarding
New Year's Eve at WDW) ...We like to stay out late and have
found that most parks really clear out after 9PM. Any
suggestions as to what we could do on New Year's eve? Our children
are 11 and 15 so we won't be going to Pleasure Island (or spending
$200 plus per ticket). I am looking for something fun and memorable!

A.

Sue Holland helped me out with this one, as I've
never been to WDW over the holidays... She answers:

"I'm pretty certain the parks will NOT clear out after
9pm on 12/31! I'll be there on 12/31 this year - only because
friends from Scotland will be there & we've made plans
to ring in the New Year with them. Personally, I think we're
nuts!

"We're doing the 5pm Hoop Dee Doo (booked over a year
in advance) and then will meet other friends in the MK -
IF it's not closed to any new guests.

"We'll be shoulder to shoulder enjoying each other's
company, waiting for the fireworks, hoping it's not a bitterly
cold night!

"If people don't mind incredible crowds, any of the
parks would be the place to be. If crowds are a concern,
if Diane's family is staying at one of the MK resorts I'd
recommend booking a nice dinner somewhere & then watching
the MK fireworks from their resort (perhaps with a bottle
of champagne). If they're at the BW resorts, they could
have a nice dinner, and then watch the Epcot fireworks from
the resort. Staying at the value or moderate resorts pretty
much forces them to "go" somewhere, and if they're
staying offsite, they've got my condolences <g>.

"Seriously, 12/31 is not your typical "peak"
time....it's much worse.

"As the date gets closer, Disney should release information
on what entertainment they're adding to the parks for 12/31.
As I recall, MGM usually has several musical groups. I'm
not sure what the others do."

-

Q.

Daniel Asks: Just
stayed a week at Coronado Springs and it down right was terrible.
One, who can I write to at Disney that will listen and two how
do I get the info to you??

Q.

Cyril Writes: This
is targeted for families at WDW touring the parks with an infant.
I just arrived back from our vacation at WDW. Instead of taking
a stroller we invested in a child carrier/backpack. This is
without a doubt the way to go. I was able to take it on all
the rides an infant could ride. No more searching for where
your stroller was parked and then moved by someone else. Also,
the ease at which you could navigate through a crowd was priceless.

A.

Thanks for your comment, Cyril!

We did the infant carrier thing, too, when our first son
was a baby. It worked ok, but we found ourselves getting tired
from carrying the extra weight around, even though he was
just a few weeks old at the time.

I think, for infants, that a mix of using an infant carrier
and a stroller works well. Once the baby is six months old
or so, though, the carrier is really just too heavy for long
periods of time.

-

Q.

Rori Writes: My family
has a tradition of going to WDW for anniversary celebrations,
so we may well be attending next year's. But what I'm wondering
about is whether there will be any "Atlantis" related
attractions installed for that. I know the movie has done under
whelming business, but is there still the possibility of an
attraction of some kind? I enjoyed the film greatly.

A.

Rori,

There are no plans for any in-park tie-ins to Atlantis at
this time.

Well, I hope you enjoyed the reader feedback
for the WDW Trip Planning Guide! Feed free to send more questions
or comments to brian@mouseplanet.com!

Brian Bennett's Disney Trip Planner

Click here to see
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I've
always gotten email about the WDW Trip Planning Guide, but since we added
the feedback
form to the site several months ago, the number of questions has increased
dramatically! I do my best to answer each and every question personally,
but I've noticed that a lot of the questions are asked again and again.
The question that one person asks might very well be the question that
someone else is wondering about. Thus this page!

So...I'll post
reader email and feedback every once in a while, because the question
someone else asks might be the same one you're thinking about yourself!

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